Motorists driven down a rabbit hole in Waterford
Farronshoneen Roundabout
A proposed review into Farronshoneen Roundabout could take a number of months to complete.
At the May meeting of the Metropolitan District, Councillors were taken aback when told that the review was slated to happen this summer, while the schools and colleges are on break.
Councillor Adam Wyse (Fianna Fáil) expressed concern over the process of the review, as did Councillor Mary Roche (Social Democrats).
Metropolitan Mayor Joe Kelly (Independent) said: "I agree with the Councillors, that study should be suspended and restarted when the schools are back.
"It's a waste of money and a waste of time to do it now and it's just sending people down a rabbit hole as far as I'm concerned."
Senior Engineer Michael Murphy stressed that the review would then have to be delayed by at least four months.
Councillor Jim D'Arcy (Fine Gael) referred to the proposal as a 'ridiculous waste of money'.
He told Waterford News and Star: "Anyone who daily commutes knows that there isn’t a problem with major congestion during the summer holidays when the schools and college are off. The problem with the one lane on one side only wreaks havoc when we are back at work and back to study.
"We don’t need to pay big money to figure that out. The people were promised an accurate and fair audit and this can only be achieved when the assessment is done between September and Christmas."
The problematic roundabout has united Councillors in calling for urgent improvements. Earlier this year, nearly 2,000 people signed a petition demanding urgent changes to the roundabout in the name of public safety.
The petition was organised by Waterford City East councillors, who stated that the current design "has led to increased traffic congestion and safety concerns for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians".
"Since its implementation, the new design has seen a series of accidents, including severe collisions and near-misses."
In March of this year, Waterford City and County Council announced that a review into Farronshoneen Roundabout was 'underway'.
Cllr D'Arcy has written a letter directly to CEO of Waterford Council Sean McKeown.
He wrote: "I just want to express my disappointment that an assessment of traffic flow is taking place at a time when the schools are drawing to a close. We all want a solution, but this is very disappointing and the optics are terrible.
"I would ask that this assessment is cancelled and that this assessment takes place at a time when the assessment will show the reality of the traffic flow for 9/10 months of the year and not just two summer months.
Cllr D'Arcy continued: "People feel that a stroke was pulled by using a Section 38 safety measure to alter a major artery in the City and this really does back that negativity up."
At time of going to print, Mr McKeown has yet to respond to the letter.
